Your dog is following you everywhere. Even places where you would most gladly go on your own. Wherever you go, your dog is right beside you. Why? Excellent question!
Dogs sometimes, more than sometimes, do things that seem weird. Usually, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation behind the weird behavior. But because they can’t tell us, we need to figure it out.
If your dog or your friend’s dog is following you everywhere, it doesn’t mean you’re pregnant without knowing it or dying like many think. Yes, we might have read an article or two about a smart doggo who detected cancer. Most likely that’s not the case with you and your dog.
So let’s breathe and look at what might cause your doggo to follow you constantly.
Most often one or a few of these will explain your dog’s behavior when your dog is following you everywhere:
- Wants something from you
- Separation anxiety
- Fear
- Learned behavior
- Insecurity
- Emotional distress
- Needs care
- Needs support
- Needs reassurance
- Underlying condition
Your dog might simply want something from you. I don’t need to ask, does your dog follow you to the kitchen every time… right? If so, your dog is used to the fact that there’s often something thrown on the floor. It’s a great place to be when special treats are flying!
Your dog can have separation anxiety. Separation anxiety happens when your dog is super-attached to you and your dog’s world seems to collapse when you leave. Separation anxiety is not healthy for your dog and needs to be fixed before the condition gets any worse.
Your dog might be fearful of something you can’t see or hear yet. Did you know dogs can hear and feel thunderstorms coming before we do? I have 5 tips when leaving your dog alone during thunderstorms to make your dog feel more comfortable.
Learned behavior usually explains this. Do you pet your dog every time your dog comes to you without asking? That’s normal, but that way your dog gets rewarded by your affection every time your dog wants to. So why not come to you more often to get those lovely cuddles..? Yeah. If your dog is really clingy, pay attention to your own behavior and try to pet your dog on your terms, not when your dog is asking for it.
When your dog is insecure, that might come across as clingy. Relationship-based training can be the answer to this one because the root cause is between your bond with your dog. Maybe there’s a leadership issue that is causing your doggo to be insecure and nervous because your doggo doesn’t have a confident pack leader.
Different environments, loud noises, or separation anxiety can cause emotional distress to your dog. There might be something your dog is hearing that you can’t yet. Keep a close eye on your environment and subtle changes in it if there are some triggers why your dog. Especially if your dog is following you all of a sudden.
Your dog might need care, support, or reassurance because of some of the reasons above. Connecting with your dog and training your dog consistently is always a good idea.
If you think those issues are not causing your dog to be so clingy, I would make an appointment with your local vet to be sure there isn’t any underlying condition that causes the symptoms.
How to get your dog to leave you alone
I would recommend that you start by training the stay – command. I have listed my step-by-step guide of the 7 basic dog commands that will help you move fast with your training.
Stay -command is a lifesaver in many different situations!
You can start using this command in your home when you need your dog to stay in one place for a while. Good training situations are when you leave one room for a few minutes and come back.
How to do this:
- Start by standing in front of your dog, give the Stay -command, hold on for a few seconds and then give a lot of praise/favorite toy/ treat.
- When your dog can stay for a few seconds, train your dog to wait a few seconds more before giving the reward.
- Keep going until your dog is comfortable waiting several minutes. If your dog can’t wait as long as you wanted, you went too fast so take a few steps back.
Also, remember that your dog can’t decide when you should cuddle them. It’s your decision as harsh as that might sound. You are thinking of the best of your dog when you make all the decisions in your home. As small as they might seem.
This is particularly important if you have a clingy doggo at the moment.
Final thoughts
If your dog or another familiar dog is really clingy, there’s most often a learned behavior that will explain it. When you pay attention to your own behavior around that clingy dog, you will notice that you will give that dog some kind of award.
Over and over again in the same kind of situation.
It might just be a few strokes that you do without thinking about it but it means a lot to that clingy dog. Separation anxiety is more severe and needs to be trained as soon as possible to help your dog and you as well.